ABSTRACT
The author presents the intellectual interaction of the leadership with certain historical and contemporary Sunni Islamic ‘ulama and scholars. Examining this exchange provides further understanding of the leadership’s actions. Key thinkers with whom the leadership identify are Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (d. 241H/855AD), Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H/1328AD), the Najdi-Saudi ‘ulama, Muhammad Qutb, Muhammad al-Albani (1914-2000), Muhammad al-Rashid (1938), and Muhammad Surur Ibn Naif Zin al-‘Abidin (1940-).
